Local teen to join ‘Swamp People’ cast

Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 10:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 10:10 p.m.

A young alligator wrangler from Kraemer is stepping back into the public eye. Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe, 16, will join the cast of the History Channel’s hit reality TV show “Swamp People.”

Loupe first appeared on national television with his parents on Country Music Television’s “Trading Spouses” in 2004. The show took two families with radically different lifestyles and outlooks on life and switched the moms for a week, keeping the cameras rolling to watch what happens. There, he won audiences over with his charming ‘ZZ-isms,’ and fearless attitude.

“Swamp People,” which debuted fall 2011 to a tune of 4.4 million viewers, features hunters from Pierre Part, Port Sulphur, Bayou Sorrel and the North Shore. The fourth season premieres 8 p.m. Feb. 14.

“I hope this is a great stepping stone in my career. I want to become a great alligator wrangler and I hope through the show people can see I’m capable of doing a job most wouldn’t dare to do,” Loupe said. “Because I’m only 16, if I tell you all these stories about wrangling alligators you’d look at me like I’m crazy. Now I have a lot of it on film.”

ZZ’s mom Diana Tregle said he’s “been wrangling and filming since he could walk.”

“He comes from long line of great hunters and great Cajun story tellers,” she said.

This season will showcase partnerships. ZZ’s wrangling partner is his uncle, Tom “Pet” Candies.

The family is well-known around New Orleans and in French-speaking countries as the owners of Zam’s Swamp Tours in Bayou Boeuf, which has been open for nearly 40 years as a family-run business. New Orleans locals often advise tourists to head to Zam’s for “the real thing,” Tregle said.

The family is used to big and small screens, she said, as they are known in the film industry for their alligator- and snake-wrangling skills.

The family has worked as animal wranglers on numerous films, commercials, documentaries and productions featuring Cajun themes or requiring alligators or snakes.

On the set of “Swamp People,” ZZ was not allowed to shoot or hit alligators with hatchets because of his age. He says he looks forward to the chance to do so but for now, he just has something to prove through his appearance on the show.

“I hope this tells a lot of people they can stop worrying about me. There are about 300 people in Kraemer. You know the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child. Well, I’m the child they raised,” ZZ said, laughing. “Whatever I did that scared someone, they’d run back and tell my mom and I’d get in a little trouble. But I’m hoping they see they don’t need to watch me anymore and that they can keep their noses to themselves.”

The family said there’s sure to be some excitement on the show, though they don’t know exactly how their adventures have been edited. ZZ said there’s one scene in particular he’s hoping wasn’t cut.

“There’s one time where my Uncle Tom shot an alligator and I drug it on to land. I had already cut the mouth and everything when it got up and started walking. I jumped on top of it and told Tom to shoot it again and he thought I was crazy,” ZZ said. “He shot it again because I asked him too but everybody around me thought I was crazy because they didn’t see it get up and walk.”

There may be other exciting moments to see during the show’s fourth season. It was set to start filming on the first day of the last alligator season, August 29, 2012—the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the day Hurricane Isaac made landfall.

The family property flooded for the first time in 12 years, Tregle said, but they went on with production.

On tonight’s season premiere, ZZ will be introduced as the “fresh blood” and the “new prince” of the swamp.

“ZZ’s looking forward to a good future with the show,” Tregle said. “He’s already so popular and personable and funny. Because he’s so genuinely good, a lot of people already love him. We’ve already been told by some people in the ‘Swamp People’ network that they’re looking forward to ZZ going a long way on the show.”

Loupe has already signed a five-year contract with the History Channel and will be a regular on the show.

Staff Writer Kris Johnson can be reached at 857-2207 or kris.johnson@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @krisLjo.

<p>A young alligator wrangler from Kraemer is stepping back into the public eye. Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe, 16, will join the cast of the History Channel's hit reality TV show “Swamp People.”</p><p>Loupe first appeared on national television with his parents on Country Music Television's “Trading Spouses” in 2004. The show took two families with radically different lifestyles and outlooks on life and switched the moms for a week, keeping the cameras rolling to watch what happens. There, he won audiences over with his charming 'ZZ-isms,' and fearless attitude.</p><p>“Swamp People,” which debuted fall 2011 to a tune of 4.4 million viewers, features hunters from Pierre Part, Port Sulphur, Bayou Sorrel and the North Shore. The fourth season premieres 8 p.m. Feb. 14. </p><p>“I hope this is a great stepping stone in my career. I want to become a great alligator wrangler and I hope through the show people can see I'm capable of doing a job most wouldn't dare to do,” Loupe said. “Because I'm only 16, if I tell you all these stories about wrangling alligators you'd look at me like I'm crazy. Now I have a lot of it on film.” </p><p>ZZ's mom Diana Tregle said he's “been wrangling and filming since he could walk.” </p><p>“He comes from long line of great hunters and great Cajun story tellers,” she said. </p><p>This season will showcase partnerships. ZZ's wrangling partner is his uncle, Tom “Pet” Candies. </p><p>The family is well-known around New Orleans and in French-speaking countries as the owners of Zam's Swamp Tours in Bayou Boeuf, which has been open for nearly 40 years as a family-run business. New Orleans locals often advise tourists to head to Zam's for “the real thing,” Tregle said.</p><p>The family is used to big and small screens, she said, as they are known in the film industry for their alligator- and snake-wrangling skills. </p><p>The family has worked as animal wranglers on numerous films, commercials, documentaries and productions featuring Cajun themes or requiring alligators or snakes. </p><p>On the set of “Swamp People,” ZZ was not allowed to shoot or hit alligators with hatchets because of his age. He says he looks forward to the chance to do so but for now, he just has something to prove through his appearance on the show. </p><p>“I hope this tells a lot of people they can stop worrying about me. There are about 300 people in Kraemer. You know the saying 'it takes a village to raise a child. Well, I'm the child they raised,” ZZ said, laughing. “Whatever I did that scared someone, they'd run back and tell my mom and I'd get in a little trouble. But I'm hoping they see they don't need to watch me anymore and that they can keep their noses to themselves.”</p><p>The family said there's sure to be some excitement on the show, though they don't know exactly how their adventures have been edited. ZZ said there's one scene in particular he's hoping wasn't cut. </p><p>“There's one time where my Uncle Tom shot an alligator and I drug it on to land. I had already cut the mouth and everything when it got up and started walking. I jumped on top of it and told Tom to shoot it again and he thought I was crazy,” ZZ said. “He shot it again because I asked him too but everybody around me thought I was crazy because they didn't see it get up and walk.” </p><p>There may be other exciting moments to see during the show's fourth season. It was set to start filming on the first day of the last alligator season, August 29, 2012—the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the day Hurricane Isaac made landfall. </p><p>The family property flooded for the first time in 12 years, Tregle said, but they went on with production. </p><p>On tonight's season premiere, ZZ will be introduced as the “fresh blood” and the “new prince” of the swamp. </p><p>“ZZ's looking forward to a good future with the show,” Tregle said. “He's already so popular and personable and funny. Because he's so genuinely good, a lot of people already love him. We've already been told by some people in the 'Swamp People' network that they're looking forward to ZZ going a long way on the show.”</p><p>Loupe has already signed a five-year contract with the History Channel and will be a regular on the show. </p><p>Staff Writer Kris Johnson can be reached at 857-2207 or kris.johnson@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @krisLjo.</p>